Review: Few producers enjoy the exalted position that Current Value does. And since he's moved back from his hectic crossbreed creations to more traditional tech drum & bass sounds, you can really hear the detail in every element. Xtrah is a man of similar frequency obsession, making this Cyberfunk release a really natural and honest project. Highlights include the cymbal-splashing twist on the triplet arrangement ("Escape") and the insane blocky snare funk on the total sci-fi freak out "Matchfit". With all other tech territories explored in between, one could easily argue this to be Cyberfunk's best release so far.

Review: Alexi Delano and Santi "Xpansul" Ferrer met during 2004 in Madrid, Spain and have been recording together since. 2006 marks a strong release year for the duo with their debut on Plus 8 as well as a single on Adam Beyer's True Soul label. Both together and separately their recording and performing careers have each taken shape over the last 10 plus years. "Intelligence Reframed" rattles and rolls in true Plus 8 dancefloor spirit, shifting in precise yet animated techno. The A-side lead off track "Echolocation" sends a driving but relaxed beat into a sinister zone of space. "Cosmic Antipathy" grooves along with its electro stabs, square - wave bubbles and cosmic tones that squelch and electrocute. First off the edge of the B - side is "Vegetotherapy", a deeper approach to their sound with a slightly industrialized attitude. "Meta - Intellectual" takes the record out on a surgical bang, tossing up layers of shadow melodies and manic loops of metallic percussion.
Alexi originally hails from Stockholm (Sweden) where he grew into DJing and producing alongside friends Cari Lekebusch and Jesper Dahlback during the early 1990's. From living in cities like Barcelona and now New York, his musical & DJ perspective is global and his sounds continue to expand. Santiago Ferrer runs three labels, Discos De Lata, MSX and Sindicato Records, based out of Madrid. He is one of Spain's most respected electronic music artists and has new releases coming out on Apnea and his own Discos De Lata label.

Review: From Leeds to London via Bristol; PBR Streetgang and X-Press 2 have collided to create two superb slabs of timeless late night house; "Cosine" is a prog-minded, star-gazing strutter that would have sounded impeccable if it were released at any stage in the last 20 years. "Key Free" is a more upbeat, tech-minded workout with jazzy intentions... The frenetic synth meanders underpinned by a really creepy, ominous synth bass tone that wouldn't have gone amiss on Garnier's F-Com back in the day. For remix pleasure, "Cosine" enjoys a psychedelic twist from Lauer and a crunchy, angular electro b-boy flip from Elastic Dreams man A Sagittariun. Powerful.

Review: In its lifetime Finale Sessions have seen releases from the likes of Fred P, Innerspace Halflife and Amir Alexander, and the label's latest 12", Finale Undergound Vol 1, sees three similarly respected artists come together on one EP for some properly deep moves. Steven Tang delivers the suitably titled "Immense", a moody slice of house percussion positively swimming in Tang's trademark pads, while Metrolux boss XDB joins him on the A-side for some weighty yet refined house music, pairing abstract tones with some submerged bassline swing unfolding out into some heavily delayed, oven warm chords. FXHE associate Luke Hess finishes up with "Suplication"; though it shares the same dubby qualities as the rest it's the most impressively driving track of the three, combining Motor City dynamism with Chicago's breezy house.

Review: Pacific House pioneers Legowelt and Xosar surface for air as Xamiga for a second time, appearing on the M Division with the dinky blue vinyl Oceania 10". Mr Wolfers is no stranger to the Melbourne imprint, having graced M Division on several occasions under his Nacho Patrol banner, and it's great to see him and XOSAR offered the chance to expand on last year's debut Xamiga release on Rush Hour. As you'd expect from the nautical stylings, there's a healthy amount of Drexciyan influence at display across the three tracks, mixed up with spectral, self styled 'Ghost Haus' that XOSAR has been developing across her solo releases. "Atlantis Force Code" is a considered highlight, sounding like Daphne Oram trying her hand at jacking house.

Review: Aside from dealing with distribution matters, Germany's Diamonds and Pearls also puts out killer house and techno music on its own self-titled imprint. The past has seen releases by the likes of Dettmann, Efdemin, and Kassem Mosse, among others, and this time they've brought together house deviant XDB and the younger Even Drones onto one slab of wax. XDB drops some of his familiar blend of minimal funk on "Mitos", which is expertly rewired by Even Drones into a sparser, more broken cut. The flipside contains another original from XDB, "Enpii", which is moodier and more molecular than its predecessor; and once again, ED features on rewiring duties, moulding the original into a deep-space belter with a driving groove and one hell of a hook.

Review: While he may have been spotted in Gentlemen's Dub Club amongst other festival friendly acts, as Xoa Nick Tyson is going it alone to create globe-trotting sounds that speak to his musicianship and keen instinct for other kinds of grooves. There are in fact additional vocal spots on this EP including Anthony Joseph and Monika Liu, but the record is definitely pulled together by Tyson's focused, refined vision. "In So" is a notable delight with its skittering beat and laconic guitar lines. Watch out for the B side though, where the tracks get appropriate club revisions. Byron The Aquarius' remix particularly stands out, injecting some broken beat bump into "In So".

Review: XOA is an exciting new project fusing sounds from the golden era of '70s Afrobeat with contemporary electronica and modern production. The debut release AIYE LE, features the vocals of former Fela Kuti musical director and afrobeat royalty Dele Sosimi. Label boss Dan Shake steps up for the remix on the B side, bringing his signature Detroit house aesthetic.

Review: Mind melting techno from Xosar on her new new label Gyrocyre!!! "When people on our planet hold built up psychic tensions under the skin, the energy gestates in a womb-like growth until it's ready to burst through the flesh manifest as a creature called a Gyrocyre. Many people opt out of ever letting the beast emerge, happy to function at levels they can predict without having to face the challenge brought on by the Gyrocyre. It grows heavy and bloated with untapped potential. Those who embrace the change slice through the flesh and let it out. It fuses with the host, covering his or her skin like a mask. Depending on the nature of their heart, it gives them tools to save or destroy the world. We invite you to embrace the change and let your Gyrocyre out."

Review: The hype's been building. The beef's been cooking. This is one of Xtrah's most talked about EPs so far. Naturally the music speaks for itself... From the elastic purring drones and jazzy subtleties of opening track "The Embarkment" through the final militant dischordant stutters and pneumatic flickers of the final track "Fragments" this is a lesson in rolling, understated, uncompromised underground drum & bass. The tribal groans and cymbal splashes of "Disturbance", the skitty energy of "Tibetan Funk", the electrified sizzling bassline of "Babylon Shall Fall"... It's all about precision produced dark funk. Spacious and to the point.

Review: Pitter-patter party piece from early 2013, XXXY's bubblesome future garage cut gets a repress from Pollen... "Rain" is all about the subverted two-step and washed out synth splashes that trickle down the vibe pensively. Meanwhile on the B, Jack Sparrow flips the vibe with upbeat shuffle-drums and a palpitating bassline that drives the vibe with subtle but effective drama. A worthwhile revisit; grab it if you missed it first time around.

Review: XXXY continues his series of deep tech Rinse sermons with this powerful-yet-understated trio of brooding, reflective tracks. "Regrets" burns low-and-slow like a Henrik Schwarz cut, all strings and soft pads. "12049" follows suit with tightly clipped synth patterns over another insistent but subtle drum arrangement (think Ame's "Rej") while "Over Peover" joyrides New Horizons' slipstream and takes us to the further reaches of the solar system by way of twinkling arpeggios and lush, life-affirming synth chords. Beautiful.

Review: The original pressing of Subsequent Pleasures, the self-financed and ludicrously limited debut EP from Dutch darkwave pioneers Xymox (later to rename themselves Clan of Xymox), is notoriously hard to get hold of. Props, then, to reissue specialists Dark Entries for making it available again on vinyl for the first time since 1983. While this version doesn't include all of the tracks featured on the original, it does contain all the killers, including the electro-goth wooziness of "Going Around", the Joy Division-ish "Strange 9 To 9" and the superb synth workout "Call It Weird". It's one of those releases that should be an essential purchase for anyone with even the remotest interest in darkwave.

Review: Ten years of Deep Explorer... The celebration started with "The Capsule remixes 10" that was released 2 months ago, now is closed with this "Far & Beyond", a double pack vinyl where the brothers and heads of the label (Dubbyman & Above Smoke) make their own selection of exclusive material into groove and dark deepest house tunes from artists worldwide.

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